title: Pediatric surgery and the human microbiome.
abstract: Bold advances in the past decade have made it possible to carefully study the contributions of microbes to normal human development and to disease pathogenesis. The intestinal microbiota has been implicated in adult diseases ranging from obesity to cancer, but there have been relatively few investigations of bacteria in surgical diseases of infancy and childhood. In this review, we discuss how novel culture-independent approaches have been harnessed to profile microbes present within clinical specimens. Unique features of the pediatric microbiota and innovative approaches to manipulate the gut flora are also reviewed. Finally, we detail the contributions of gut microbes to 3 diseases relevant to pediatric surgeons: necrotizing enterocolitis, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. Current and future research regarding the pediatric microbiota is likely to translate to improved outcomes for infants and children with surgical diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Erica M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Carlisle
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Morowitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D018988:Bacterial Translocation; D050110:Bariatric Surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D004032:Diet; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013502:General Surgery; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D054892:Metagenome; D051379:Mice; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D010372:Pediatrics; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019449:Pouchitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence